Mercury and the Sculptor
Mercury, having a mind to know in what estimation he was held among men, disguised himself as a traveler. Going into a sculptor's workshop, he began asking the price of the different statues he saw there.
Pointing to an image of Jupiter, the traveler asked how much he wanted for that. "A drachma," said the image-maker. Mercury laughed in his sleeve and asked, "How much for this one of Juno?" The man wanted a higher price for that.
Mercury's eye now caught his own image. "Now, will this fellow," thought he, "ask me ten times as much for this, for I am the messenger of heaven, and the source of all his gain?" So he put the question to him, what he valued that statue of Mercury at.
"Well," says the sculptor, "if you will give me my price for the other two, I will throw that into the bargain."
They, who are over-anxious to know how the world values them, will seldom be set down at their own price.